Brave Bath Rugby bow out of Singha 7s

21 August 2015

A brave effort from a young Bath Rugby squad saw them bow out of the Singha 7s at Kingsholm this evening, having beaten London Irish first-up before suffering defeat to eventual finalists Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester Rugby.

The hosts got the evening off to an emphatic start as they comfortably dispatched Chiefs by 36-5. Lloyd Evans got things going for the Cherry & Whites after two minutes before Mark Atkinson crossed.

Exeter got themselves on the board after six minutes but that was as good as it got as Gloucester skipper Steph Reynolds crossed just before half-time and then added another with a blistering break in the second period.

However, Bath weren't to be outdone and showed that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with as they dispatched London Irish 26-0 in the evening's second match.

Captain Adam Hastings ran in the first try for Bath before Darren Atkins got the first of two – the second a cheeky kick through the middle – and Alex O'Meara wrapped things up with a minute to go. But the quick turnaround of back-to-back games didn't do the young side any favours and Exeter bounced back from their opening defeat with a 26-10 triumph.

Alex Ducker opened the scoring for the Chiefs but Bath responded with tries from Shaquille Jack and Apolosi Sokia to take the lead. Exeter upped the pressure after the break and tries from Sam Simmonds, Matt Eliet and Pete Laverick kept their final dream alive.

Gloucester made no mistake against London Irish as they produced another devastating performance to win 31-7 – Reynolds picking up his third try of the night to open the scoring.

London Irish's competition came to an end in the penultimate match with Exeter as they struggled to make any impact and the Chiefs stormed to a 43-0 win. Laverick's double was the highlight for Chiefs, his first a breakaway through the middle of a conufsued Irish defence.

That left Bath needing a huge win against the hosts to qualify, and they got off to a nightmare start as Dan Thomas broke through the middle to give the home side the advantage.

Bath hit back with 12 seconds left in the first period to level things but the hosts were in sensational second-half form and three tries saw Gloucester seal the win and their place in the finals next week.